Genre

• “a category of artistic, musical, or literary

composition characterized by a particular
style, form, or content
Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged
Dictionary of the English Language
 Types of Genre
• Poetry
the first major literary genre
Popular examples of epic poems include Paradise
Lost, by John Milton, The Iliad and The
Odyssey, by Homer
Examples of romantic poems include Red Red
Rose, by Robert Burns.
All these poetic forms share specific features,
such as they do not follow paragraphs or
sentences; they use stanzas and lines instead.
• follow very strict rules of length, and
number of stanzas and lines, such
as villanelle, sonnet, and haiku
• free-form, like Feelings, Now, by Katherine
Foreman, which is devoid of any regular
meter and rhyme scheme
• often poetry uses figurative language, such
as metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, hyperbo
le, and alliteration to create heightened
effect.
 Drama
• a form of text that is performed in front of
an audience, also called a play.
• Its written text contains dialogues, and stage
directions
 Categories of Drama
• comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy
• William Shakespeare - father of English
drama.
• well-known plays include Taming of the Shrew,
Romeo & Juliet, and Hamlet
• Greek playwrights were the pioneers in this
field, such as Sophocles’ masterpiece Oedipus
Rex, and Antigone, while modern dramas
include Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller
 Prose
• has complete sentences organized into
paragraphs
• focuses on characters and plot, rather than
focusing on sounds
• includes short stories and novels, while
fiction and non-fiction are its sub genres.
• further categorized into essays, speeches,
sermons, and interpretations.
 Other genres are
• Westerns, spy, adventure, science fiction,
horror, fantasy, biography, and mystery
 Four Elements of Genre
• Story (Action)
+ Plot
+ Character
+ Setting
= Genre.
 Non-Fiction
• sub-genres: Creative (personal essay) or factual
(scientific paper)
• may also use figurative language
• may tell a story, like an autobiography, or
sometimes it may convey information to readers
• Other examples: biographies, diaries, memoirs, journals
• A popular example of non-fiction genre is Michael Pollan’s
highly celebrated book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural
History of Four Meals, which is an account of the eating habits
of Americans.
 Remember . . .

Fiction
These are stories that are NOT
real! They are made-up. Can
include fairytales, folktales,
fables, myths, tall tales, realistic
fiction, science fiction, fantasy,
and historical fiction!
 Three Categories
• realistic, non-realistic, and semi-fiction
• Important elements:
plot, exposition, foreshadowing, rising
action, climax, falling action, and resolution
• Popular examples: James Joyce’s A Portrait
of an Artist as a Young Man, Charles Dickens’
A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Austen’s Pride and
Prejudice, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird
Literary Elements of Fiction

Genre, story elements, etc.

http://members.tripod.com/dscorpio/images/literary_elements.ppt
 Plot

• Plot is the sequence of events that

occur in a narrative. A narrative is
any work that tells a story, such as
a short story, a novel, a drama, or a
narrative poem.
 Diagram of Plot
Climax/But

Exposition/ Resolution/So
Somebody
 Exposition
Introduces the Setting Introduces the Characters

• Time and place; Can include • Protagonist/Antagonist

dialects, scenery, customs, • Major/Minor
time period, clothing, • Round/Flat
weather, time of day/year. • Static/Dynamic
• The setting helps: create • Characterization
mood, show a reader a • How an author creates a
different way of life, or character – can be direct or
make the action seem more indirect
real. • Appearance, dialogue,
actions, descriptions,
• The setting can also be the motivations, etc.
source of conflict and can be
a symbol for something else.
 METHODS OF
CHARACTERIZATION
• • Physical appearance
• • Names
• • What the narrator tells us
about them
• • What other characters say
about them
 Rising Action – the conflict
develops
External Conflict Internal Conflict
• Struggle against an • A struggle within a
opposing force: character.
• Person vs. Person • I can’t decide whether or not
• Mr. Carlos and Ms. Oleksiak to go out with Bobby. He’s
are arguing super cute, but kind of has a
• Person vs. Nature dud personality. Oh
• Ms. Oleksiak is swept away goodness, what is a girl to do?
during a flash flood.
• Person vs. Beast
• Ms. Oleksiak is mauled by a
wild turkey.
 Climax
• The turning point of the story.
• The point of highest suspense or tension.
• Example: Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet’s
cousin. If he hadn’t killed Tybalt, the
original plan that would allow Romeo and
Juliet to be together may have worked.
 Falling Action
• The conflict is close to being resolved and
the action of the story is coming to an end.
• Example: The glass slipper fits Cinderella.
 Resolution
• The conflict is resolved, the story ends
(unless of course, the author wants an
ending that is open to interpretation).
• Example: Romeo and Juliet die.
 Types of Plot Events
• Chronological order:
• Some stories begin with what happens first,
following the regular time development of
events to end.
• Some stories begin at the end then lead up
to why and how things developed as they
did.
• Some stories begin in the middle of things.
 Special Techniques of Plot
Suspense- excitement or tension
Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will
happen in story
Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence
of events to tell about something that
happened in the past
Surprise Ending/Irony- conclusion that
reader does not expect
 POINT OF VIEW
• The angle or perspective from which the story is
told (Who tells the story)
• Two Main Types:
• First person point of view
• story is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters,
using the first person pronoun “I”. The first person narrator
can either be participant or nonparticipant in the action
• Third person point of view
• story is told using a narrator who uses third person
pronouns such as “he”, “she”, “his”, “her”, “they” etc.
• Three different types:
• • Omniscient • Limited Omniscient • Objective
 Theme
A central message, concern, or insight
into life expressed through a literary
work
Can be expressed by one or two
sentence statement about human beings
or about life
May be stated directly or implied
Interpretation uncovers the theme
 Example of Theme
Recurring vs. Universal Some Examples:
• Recurring – a theme specific • The Outsiders – Bridging
to a particular time period. the gap between the rich and
• Universal – a theme relevant the poor.
to all. • The Giver – The importance
of the individual.
• Love is able to break
through all barriers.
 Function of Genre
Fiction & Drama Poetry
• help students and • enhances imaginative
writers learn and and emotional power
improve their of the readers
communication skills
Non-Fiction Texts • to establish a code of
behavior between the
• help readers develop writers and audience,
analytical and and keep the readers
persuasive informed about the
topics discussed or the
capabilities
themes presented